The invention relates generally to an electrochemical cell, and in some specific embodiments, to a method of charging an electrochemical cell.
A battery is a component used to store a portion of the energy in mobile systems such as electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles (for example locomotives, off-highway mining vehicles, marine applications, buses and automobiles), and for stationary applications such as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and “Telecom” (telecommunication systems). The high-temperature sodium-metal halide electrochemical cells are generally targeted for use in industrial transportation, telecommunication, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) batteries. These cells could potentially offer high energy density, high power density, longer cell life, and lower cost-requirements for many of these applications.
Normally, a sodium-metal halide battery is made up of many sodium-metal halide cells. Multiple sodium metal halide cells can be connected in series or parallel to form a stack. The current method of charging the sodium metal halide cell can sometimes takes a longer time than desired. In cell operation, it is desirable to minimize the amount of time dedicated to charging the cell, and to maximize the time of delivering energy to the customer. It would therefore be desirable to develop a faster charging method for sodium metal halide cells, without degrading the cell.